Skip Navigation

NSF Appoints OU Biologist to Elevate National Science Education

NEWS
Gordon Uno.

NSF Appoints OU Biologist to Elevate National Science Education


By

Josh DeLozier

joshdelozier@ou.edu

Date

Aug. 7, 2024

NORMAN, OKLA. – Gordon Uno, a plant biologist from the University of Oklahoma, was recently named a program director for the National Science Foundation Division of Undergraduate Education, Directorate for STEM Education.

As a program officer, Uno will help coordinate the review panels for NSF funding proposals. These panels, comprised of experts from across the United States, rank each proposal and determine how much, if any, funding it receives from the NSF.

“In this role, I have the honor of informing the researchers who have been awarded an NSF grant,” he said. “But that also means that I inform those who don’t receive funding and provide them with tips on improving their proposals in the future.”

This isn’t the first time Uno has served as an NSF program director. He worked in this same capacity from 1998 to 2000. This time around, however, he will be splitting his time between Norman and Washington, D.C., and hopes to contribute to national conversations about science education.

“I’m really looking forward to participating in meetings organized by the National Academies of Science and other agencies,” he said. “Being in Washington, D.C., is really interesting because you get to be involved with other individuals who are also concerned about matters at a national level.”

In addition to this position, Uno and collaborators from Arizona State University and a science group called SENCER have also been awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation to roll out a new model of science literacy that he and others developed. They will do so at a 2025 meeting hosted at the National Academy of Sciences.

“While planning this small meeting, we realized that a larger summit is needed to address how the science education ecosystem can deal with misinformation and disinformation, anti-science sentiment, and the lack of critical thinking and understanding about how science actually works,” he said. “We also need to see what gaps in education exist. Artificial intelligence is one example of this. It’s been unleashed so quickly, and students use it, but faculty don’t know how to rein it in.”

Although no official plans have been finalized for a National Summit on Undergraduate Science Education in the U.S., Uno has received interest from individuals at the National Academy of Science and the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences.

“We want to figure out how to move this issue forward as a group and how to be more proactive about issues that impact science classrooms,” he said. “After 40 years of teaching at the local and regional level, I’m excited to focus on big issues at the national level.”

About the University of Oklahoma

Founded in 1890, the University of Oklahoma is a public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. As the state’s flagship university, OU serves the educational, cultural, economic and health care needs of the state, region and nation. OU was named the state’s highest-ranking university in U.S. News & World Report’s most recent Best Colleges list. For more information about the university, visit ou.edu.


Recent News

Campus & Community
February 13, 2025

OU Law Launches AI QuizBot to Improve Student Engagement, Outcomes

Developed by Sean Harrington, OU Law director of technology and innovation, this AI QuizBot helps students learn through interactive conversations about important legal topics. He likens it to sitting across from your law professor and having an in-depth, meaningful conversation.


Research
February 12, 2025

Arctic Cyclones Could Be Missing Link in Sea Ice Depletion Models

A new study published in Nature Communications Earth and Environment gives possible insight into the underprediction of sea ice depletion and the formation of Arctic cyclones. The study could lead to more accurate weather and climate models and better forecasting of Arctic cyclones.


Campus & Community
February 11, 2025

University of Oklahoma Earns UPCEA Award for Excellence

The University of Oklahoma has been awarded the UPCEA Award for Excellence in Advancing Student Success for OU Online’s efforts to support students through its virtual Career Development Center.